Body Condition, Immunocompetent Organs, and Blood Parameters in the Hooded Crow

Acquarone, Camilla; Cucco, Marco; Malacarne, Giorgio

doi:10.1560/rwau-w123-2hdb-5gqc

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 25 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In the Hooded Crow, the ES rate appears to be a more sensitive parameter, or more related to body mass condition, than absolute and relative counts of blood cells. We have reached the same conclusion by monitoring the same set of parameters in free‐living individuals, as we observed that the ES rate was the only health state parameter related to mass values, lighter individuals having a higher ES rate (Acquarone et al . 2001b).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

“…In the Hooded Crows, the differences in food abundance led to strong variations in mass, a parameter that has been shown to be critical for reproduction (Loman 1984). Mass is probably a very sensitive parameter; in a parallel study of free‐living individuals, in which we analysed variations of the same set of parameters, we found year‐to‐year fluctuations in mass while no other body or health condition indices varied (Acquarone et al . 2001a, 2001b).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…In our experimental situation, the lower food supply (37 g/day for 15 days) caused a mass decrease that was mainly due to lean mass consumption, as detected by the TOBEC technique. The contribution of body fat reserve was negligible; indeed, in this species the percentage of body lipids is less than 3% (Acquarone et al . 2001b).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Effects of food abundance and predictability on body condition and health parameters: experimental tests with the Hooded Crow

Acquarone

Cucco

Cauli

et al. 2002

Ibis

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

It has been shown that small passerines can counteract variability of food resources by actively regulating their body reserves through an increase of mass. However, the effects of food predictability on body mass regulation and other body parameters, such as immune functions, in larger species have been little studied. To analyse the response of the Hooded Crow Corvus corone to food abundance and predictability, we performed three experiments with controlled food provisioning under laboratory conditions. Body mass, TOBEC (total body electrical conductivity) lean mass index, blood parameters and immune organ masses were measured at the beginning and end of a 15‐day period. In the first experiment, the food release was predictable (same amount each day) but the quantity of food delivered to five groups of birds varied (37, 75, 100, 150 or 300 g/day). Low food levels induced a greater decrease in mass accompanied by an increase in erythrocyte sedimentation rate. In the second experiment, the same average quantity of food (100 g) was supplied according to either predictable or unpredictable (random) schedules. In this case, the crows lost more mass, and their erythrocyte sedimentation rate increased when food was unpredictable. In the third experiment, the same average quantity of food (150 g) was supplied according to either a predictable schedule or two schedules with different levels of variability. The group with a low level of variability did not differ from the control, while the group with a highly variable feeding schedule lost more mass. In this group, the higher mass loss was associated with greater variation of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate and a reduced Phytohaemagglutinin index of immunocompetence and haematocrit value. The results of experiments 2 and 3 contrast with findings in other passerines, which increase their mass when food availability is unpredictable. It appears that a body mass decrease in the Hooded Crow can be induced by a reduction of either food abundance (exp. 1) or food predictability (exp. 2, 3), and it is accompanied by a worsening of health state.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Effects of food abundance and predictability on body condition and health parameters: experimental tests with the Hooded Crow

Acquarone

Cucco

Cauli

et al. 2002

Ibis

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Body condition is widely used in studies that investigate the energy reserves, performance, and fitness of organisms. In freeliving animals, body condition (often assessed as a body mass to size relationship) has been linked to differences in food availability across habitats (Cypher and Frost 1999;Owen et al 2005;Brown and Sherry 2006;Auman et al 2008), reproductive effort (Korpimaki et al 2000), immunocompetence (Acquarone et al 2001;Ewenson et al 2001;Møller and Erritzoe 2003), and survival (Morrison et al 2007;Bender et al 2008). Body condition has also been related to circulating glucocorticoid (GC) levels.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Captivity and Body Condition on Plasma Corticosterone, Locomotor Behavior, and Plasma Metabolites in Curve-Billed Thrashers

Fokidis

Hurley

Rogowski

et al. 2011

Physiological and Biochemical Zoology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The acute stress response involves the secretion of catabolic glucocorticoids, such as corticosterone (CORT) in birds, that mobilize intrinsic energy stores primarily through a gluconeogenic pathway involving fat breakdown, thus linking body condition and stress. We measured changes in CORT and gluconeogenic metabolites (triglycerides, free glycerols, glucose) during handling stress in curve-billed thrashers Toxostoma curvirostre from two habitats (urban vs. desert) that may differ in food abundance in the wild, in captivity, and in response to both food restriction and subsequent recovery. Urban thrashers were heavier and secreted more CORT than desert birds in the field, but differences did not persist in captivity. Decreased access to food resulted in decreased body mass and a diminished ability to elevate plasma CORT in response to handling stress. However, the opposite effect was observed as these birds recovered from food restriction. Plasma levels of glucose and triglycerides did not change with stress. Food restriction also increased locomotor activity, which likely further exacerbated energy loss. These observations suggest that body condition and stress differences between urban and desert birds may be related to differences in their relative energetic states, possibly due to food availability. Body condition may affect the extent to which an individual can elevate CORT and use free glycerol as energy during acute stress.

show abstract

The blood picture and serum biochemistry profile of the African pied crow (Corvus albus)

2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Body Condition, Immunocompetent Organs, and Blood Parameters in the Hooded Crow

Cited by 3 publications

References 25 publications

Effects of food abundance and predictability on body condition and health parameters: experimental tests with the Hooded Crow

Effects of food abundance and predictability on body condition and health parameters: experimental tests with the Hooded Crow

Effects of Captivity and Body Condition on Plasma Corticosterone, Locomotor Behavior, and Plasma Metabolites in Curve-Billed Thrashers

The blood picture and serum biochemistry profile of the African pied crow (Corvus albus)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About